Who

Paltrow has it all: an Oscar, a rock star husband, and two cute kids. And her fake British accent is coming along nicely.

Backstory

The daughter of producer Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, Gwynnie wasn't exactly waiting tables before she got her big break. Born in Los Angeles, she moved to Manhattan as a kid and attended Spence, and had a handful of acting opportunities waiting for her when she dropped out of UC Santa Barbara. She appeared alongside her mom in a Williamstown Theater production of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; a year later, family friend Steven Spielberg's (whom she called "Uncle Morty") cast her in his 1990 film Hook. Paltrow wisely turned down the romantic lead role in the 1991 Vanilla Ice vehicle Cool As Ice, but within a few years was scoring roles in movies like David Fincher's Se7en (1995) and Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight. As the '90s wore on, Paltrow moved away from blonde bombshell roles and carved out a niche as the eye candy of choice for middlebrow literary flicks, with star turns in 1996's Emma, Great Expectations, and a career-defining (and Oscar-winning role) as titty-flashing Shakespeare squeeze Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love. She followed up in 2001 with her role as Margot Tenenbaum in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums.

Of note

With the exception of the odd stinker like the fat-suit epic Shallow Hal, Paltrow has spent recent years appearing in Serious Films because, dammit, she is a Serious Actress. Most of her recent movies have been along the lines of the 2003 Sylvia Plath biopic Sylvia, a vanity project that sank without a trace upon its release, and the 2005 adaptation of the play Proof. But her career has also slowed down since the birth of her kids (her days are now mostly spent hosting play dates and comparing fake British accents with Madonna). Recently, she appeared in her brother Jake's middling movie, The Good Night; as Robert Downey Jr.'s love interest in Iron Man; and has turned up in various ads for Estée Lauder as part of a lucrative deal with the cosmetics giant.

Personal

Before Angelina and Jen, Gwynnie was Brad Pitt's squeeze; the two had a very public three-year relationship and engagement in the '90s. She later dated Ben Affleck, Luke Wilson, and Donovan Leitch before marrying Coldplay frontman Chris Martin in 2003. She and Martin have two children, daughter Apple (born 2004) and son Moses (born 2006). Lately, her frequent appearances at events sans hubby have led to rumors of trouble in paradise; Paltrow, for her part, maintains that she is very, very happy and very, very fulfilled by motherhood and domestic life.

Habitat

Paltrow and Martin split their time between London and New York. They recently bought a sixth-floor penthouse in the River Lofts on Washington Street in Tribeca for $5 million and a five-bedroom home with ocean views and a pool in Amagansett for $5.4 million. In England, they own another five-bedroom home in London's Belsize Park.

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